ILGenWeb State Folks

Biographies & Area Histories of Crawford County

Brief History of Crawford County

Crawford County was formed on December 31, 1816 from Edwards County (see map)
and is located in the central eastern portion of the state bordering Sullivan County, Indiana. Originally, Crawford County
encompassed all the northeastern half of the state and the upper half of the southeastern portion of the state. In 1819,
the portion of county lying north of Crawford County's present day northern border was split off to form Clark County
(see map). In 1821, the present day southern border of the county was
established with the creation of Lawrence County. Also that year, a portion of Fayette County was formed out of Crawford
(see map). On February 15, 1831, Effingham and Jasper Counties were formed
from the western half of the county to create the county's present day borders (see
map).

The county was named in honor of William H. Crawford, a United States Senator from Georgia who also served his country
as Minister of France, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Treasury. He was also a prominent presidential candidate
in 1824. Palestine was originally the capital of Crawford County. It was laid out on the 19th and 20th of May in 1818.
Robinson, centrally located in the county, eventually became the county seat. It is named after J. M. Robinson, a leading
attorney and prominent citizen of Carmi, IL.

Companies/Organizations

The Case Manufacturing Corporation, formerly a part of W. A. Case and Son
Manufacturing Company and originally the Zwermann Company, was founded by the late Carl H. Zwermann in 1919.
Transcribed by Rita Millis.

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